Most of the time, when taking pictures for the blog, I use a zoom lens. Perhaps I give you a distorted view. In actuality, one of things I love about our farm is the vast, open space that surrounds us.
Here’s how the horses looked this morning, dots in the left hand corner.
But zoom in and they become visible.
Zoom in some more and there they are.
It’s a trick of the lens.
When June arrives, I start counting the days until fall. Many people love warm weather but I’m not one of them. As the thermometer plunges, my spirits rise. And what a summer we’ve had this year. Unseasonably hot and sunny days. None of our Vermont brisk mornings necessitating a fire nor the gray days so typical to the Northeast Kingdom. Days with fog lying so low, I walk encased in mist. No, this summer has been especially crafted for those who crave the sun. Until the other day. Finally, a morning in the 40s, mist swirling. I breathe a sigh of relief. Mountain Man grumbles.
“Ayyah (a sound unique to Vermonters), won’t be long now. Time to move the horses.” And so we performed our yearly ritual of taking the horses off the upper pasture and moving them closer to the barn. It takes all day and we return to the house exhausted but I venture out one last time.
To check on the horses. Their coats are already growing thicker and soon the lush grass will disappear. The shadows draw down the sun earlier each day and I think ahead to days dark by 4:00, of frozen water buckets and air so cold it will hurt to breathe. But not yet. Do they sense what’s coming? I sit quietly and watch from just beyond the fence. I zoom in once and see Bliss and Flower.
Zoom in again and Khrysta’s head appears from the run in shed.
And if I zoom even more, you can see Cash and Blossom grazing.
Or Flower grazing under Khrysta’s belly.
My zoom lens allows you to see horses enjoying their mountaintop pasture instead of what I actually see; dots in the far off distance.
There you have it; a matter of perspective. What would you choose to see?
As I approach my birthday, I celebrate another wonderful year. It’s been full of challenges for what life is not but it’s been filled with enchantment and beauty as well and each day I am alive I can make a concious choice to zoom in on the trivial or stand back and see the beauty and the richness in the full picture. I shall fall backwards from time to time but I will remember to turn off the zoom lens and focus on the blessings instead.
Mountain Man and Mountain Woman share their life on their Vermont farm at Red Pine Mountain.
